Envisioning a more beautiful bypass

WINDHAM - With spring on the way, officials are planning ahead when it comes to keeping the town-owned island on the Route 111 bypass landscaped and maintained.

During the March 18 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, the question of who would be responsible for maintaining the landscaped byway was discussed in detail among board members.

During the recent budget process, the board agreed to meet with the town's existing contractors to figure out who would be responsible for the site's ongoing maintenance.

Town Administrator David Sullivan said he met with project officials earlier this month and during this week's meeting shared further details of the project's scope and anticipated bid process.

Last year the area wasn't maintained as it should have been, and Sullivan said the site is now in serious need of some litter removal, mowing, weeding and mulching.

"This year we're proposing the bypass be maintained four times per year," Sullivan said.

He said that in order to stay within the budget, the work should go to Boyden's Landscaping, a Pelham-based company that already does similar projects in town.

Sullivan said he expects the project to cost about $5,000 a year.

The budget allocates $16,000 for the sole purpose of landscaping various town-owned sites.

"We have to do something this year because that whole area looks horrible," Selectman Kathleen DiFruschia said of the bypass. "But I'd like to give (Boyden) the chance to remove the weeds and make the area look better."

Sullivan said this week's snowstorm would probably mean a later start for this year's beautifying, as April 1 was initially targeted as the project's starting point for the season.

The board agreed not to put the project to bid, and instead awarded a one-year contract to Boyden's Landscaping.